


"I missed this" - supercorp

by luversd



Series: Fictober 2020 [26]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: (fake) drowning, Fake Character Death, Fluff and Angst, Kara Danvers & Lena Luthor Friendship, Kara Danvers Needs a Hug, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl, Pain, Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:08:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27702557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luversd/pseuds/luversd
Summary: Kara and Lena are trapped in a virtual reality together and they have to find a way out.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Series: Fictober 2020 [26]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949590
Comments: 8
Kudos: 200





	"I missed this" - supercorp

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: fake character death, (fake) drowning, pain (none of which are described in detail but it's better to be safe than sorry).   
> All mistakes are mine. Hope you enjoy it!

Lena Luthor was frustrated. She wasn't sure if it was sheer bad luck or her last name that was attracting all the worst case scenarios ever imagined like a magnet, but she growing tired of it. Here she was, stuck with - her ex-best friend? Her friend? - her _something_ Supergirl on a beach in an alternate reality. How did she know they were in an alternate reality you ask? For one, Lena would never go to the shore willingly, her fear of deep bodies of water did not allow her to go near a lake, much less an ocean. Secondly, if the fruitless attempts at shooting laser beams out of her eyes and lifting her body off the ground were any indication, Supergirl seemed to be powerless despite the yellow sun currently burning the Luthor's pale skin. Thirdly, the multiverse as she had recently discovered had been wiped out during the crisis. Thus, Lena concluded they were trapped in a virtual reality.

There had been many attempts on her life and with each one, the probability of success seemed to grow. While any type of death was undesirable at the young age of 26 years, dying in a virtual reality was daunting. The company was fine considering the short list of people Lena could call her friends; still, there was something about being trapped in a fake world that didn't sit well with her.

She sat up from her slouched position against a log and covered her eyes from the bright sunlight as she took in their surroundings. Kara caught the movement and her head snapped up to her best friend. 'Lena,' she greeted cautiously. 'Are you hurt?'

Kara, Lena noticed, was dressed as Supergirl. She suppressed the reflexive eye roll that came over her and with a nod, she said, 'Supergirl.' She paused before adding, 'Kara.' She wasn't sure what the protocol was when it came to greeting your ex-something reporter/superhero when no one else was around, but she couldn't go wrong with greeting them both, right? 'I'm fine,' she answered once she remembered the question that had been asked. 'Pissed at whoever put us in here, but physically unhurt. You?'

Kara gave her a small smile. 'Same. My powers are gone though. Do you remember how you got in here?'

'I was working at L-Corp when a young man entered my office,' the Luthor recalled. 'He claimed he was there on behalf of the business partner I had planned a meeting with at that exact time. Something felt wrong the moment he stepped into the room but he was already on me before I could call security. I tried to fight him and I think I might have dislocated my shoulder but the drug had kicked in so I didn't feel any pain.'

'You should _really_ upgrade your security system,' Kara commented with concern and this time, Lena had no defensive arguments because the blonde was right of course. 'What about your assistant? Shouldn't she know better than to let random strangers into your office by now?'

Lena winced at the accusatory tone. She knew it stemmed from a place of love and worry, but it was hardly her employee's fault that she was a walking target. 'Don't be so hard on her, Kara, she's still learning the ropes. This is her first murder / kidnapping attempt,' she kidded although the joke fell flat. 'Tough crowd,' she muttered under her breath, glad that the Super couldn't hear her for once. 'What about you?'

'I answered a distress call and when I arrived on the scene, a man was waiting for me with Kryptonite and chloroform. Next thing I know I'm at the beach with you,' Kara recounted.

The Luthor sighed. 'I'm really growing tired of all these attempts on my life. If they are going to kill me, then they could at least have the decency to get it right the first time instead of putting me in these undesirable situations.'

There was a pained look in Kara's blue eyes as she said, 'Lena, don't say that. Please.'

Lena stared at the blonde and she had to remind herself that she was talking to the literal paragon of hope. While Kara wasn't a stranger to death and loss, the timing of Lena's statement left room for improvement. 'I'm sorry,' the CEO offered genuinely. 'Let's just try to figure out why we're here and how we can get out of this place.' Her gaze landed on the calm waves crashing against the white sand and she asked, 'what are you most afraid of?'

Confusion crossed over Kara's features but hearing the purposeful tone, she answered, 'losing my loved ones or being unable to help them when they need me.' After a reflective moment, she added, 'and bugs.'

The answer was so _Kara_ that Lena couldn't help the smile on her lips. She raised an eyebrow before repeating, 'bugs?'

The Kryptonian nodded pensively. 'They're gross.'

'Fair enough.'

'What about you? What is the infamous Miss Luthor's biggest fear?' She returned curiously.

Lena glanced at the ocean again. 'Large bodies pf water,' she voiced, her throat suddenly dry.

Kara stared at her with disbelief. 'You're kidding.'

'I assure you I'm not,' the Luthor replied stiffly. 'My mother drowned when I was four years old. It's blurry,' she admitted, 'but I can distinctly remember standing at the edge of the water waiting for her to resurface and come back to me.' She paused before concluding, 'she never did.'

'I'm sorry you had to experience that, Lena,' Kara told her empathetically.

The businesswoman shrugged. 'It happened a long time ago.'

Taking the dismissal for what it was, the blonde wondered, 'is this supposed to be some kind of face-your-fears simulation?'

'By one of your fifth dimensional imp-friends?'

'They're not my friends,' she quickly corrected. 'But it's possible. Although, the whole drugging and kidnapping part seems a bit over the top considering the fact that they could probably knock us out with a snap of their fingers.'

'That's true,' Lena agreed, bobbing her head. She frowned as a thought entered her mind. 'How did they know about my fear of large bodies of water? Even you didn't know.'

Ignoring the punch in her heart at the reminder that they weren't as close as she wanted them to be, Kara thought out loud. 'Did your family know?' It wasn't hard to read between the lines: _is Lex and/or Lillian responsible for their current predicament?_

'Yes. It's possible that Lex is behind this, although I do believe my mother put a lid on her suspicious activities,' Lena mused. 'Or at least the ones concerning her children.'

'Would your brother really want to hurt you?' Kara asked tentatively. 'I mean, he's been insisting he's the Ghandi of our generation and you worked together for a while.'

'Emphasis on work _ed,_ before I switched sides and teamed up with his mortal enemy,' the Luthor pointed out. 'The good news is I know how Lex thinks so I may be able to find a way out. The bad news is that there might not be one.'

Kara, who had been leaning against a rock a few feet away, scooted closer to her friend and said, 'we're getting out of here, Lena. I believe in you. Think of this like one of your scientific problems, how would you solve it?'

Lena considered her words and put her game face on, simultaneously grateful for and in awe of the Super's unwavering belief in her. 'Start with what we know,' she spoke methodically. 'We got knocked out, and I assume we're in some kind of virtual reality.'

'Like Obsidian Platinum?'

She nodded pensively. 'I assume we're not on another Earth?' Kara shook her head in confirmation.

'And the fact that you don't have your powers under a yellow sun seems rather impossible in the physical world - on Earth or another planet,' Lena explained.

'So, VR,' the blonde concluded. 'Like Alex when she got stuck in the Obsidian world,' she remembered.

'Exactly. How did she manage to get out?'

Kara winced at the memory. 'Kelly hit her with adrenaline but that didn't help, so she went in. She programmed a younger version of Alex and my sister ended the simulation.' There was a moment of silence until she wondered, 'did we try that?' Without waiting for a response from the other woman, she said, 'end simulation.'

The pair waited with anticipation and little hope. When nothing happened, Lena released a breath she didn't know she had been holding. 'That would've been too easy, but I can't say I would've minded the pass. That does offer some information,' she pointed out, trying to search for a sliver of a silver lining. At the blonde's raised eyebrow, she continued, 'we're both aware that we're in a virtual reality and we wished it to end, but that obviously didn't work. This tech is not designed to listen to our commands or wishes which means that whatever we do in here, probably won't have any effect on our physical selves - so us wanting to wake up won't be enough to actually wake us up.'

'Oh,' Kara realised, a surprisingly relieved look on her face. 'So we can't actually die?'

Lena thought about it. 'I guess not. If we do die here, then we'll end up being brain dead in the real world,' she contemplated. 'That's not much of a consolation, sorry.' She didn't know why exactly she was apologising, but seeing the hopeful look on her friend's face crumble into dust seemed to warrant an apology.

Kara waved off the offering of remorse. 'You're being realistic and that's what we need. Correct me if I'm wrong but there seems to be a disconnect between our bodies and our minds?'

The scientist snapped her fingers and stared at the blonde with wide eyes. 'That's it! Whatever's powering this virtual reality must also be acting as a barrier between our conscious and unconscious states.'

Lena suddenly sounded excited so Kara took that as a good sign. She watched her friend getting lost in thought as she sifted through her extensive knowledge to find some information about consciousness and the brain.

The Luthor was in mid-thought, feeling as though the answer was at the tip of her tongue when she noticed the fond expression on the Super's face. She raised an eyebrow and asked, 'what?'

'I missed this,' Kara confessed with a shy smile.

'You missed being in a near-death situation with a Luthor? I have to say I never pictured you as a masochist, Supergirl,' Lena retorted teasingly.

Kara playfully rolled her eyes. 'Not that part. I missed working with you, I missed us being a team, Lena.'

Lena cleared her throat uncomfortably. 'Now is not the time for emotional speeches.'

An awkward silence followed her statement and it took her less than a minute to speak up again. 'I missed you too.' She didn't need to look at Kara's face to know that the blonde was beaming. 'Moving on,' she stated quickly. 'I think the key to getting out of here, is for us to regain consciousness. But like you mentioned, adrenaline and the usual methods of waking someone up won't work. We need something strong enough to cut through that filter and reconnect our body to our mind.'

'I'm thinking you have an idea on what that something could be?'

Her answer was simple. 'Pain.' Before Kara could ask for an elaboration, she questioned, 'do you trust me?'

'Always.' The ease with which the Kryptonian had replied almost broke Lena's heart because she knew that the events that would follow next would hurt Kara deeply.

'Great.' The CEO forced a smile. 'We're going to need some wood for this next part, would you mind scouring the forest for some branches?' She requested, nodding towards the woods a short distance away. 'I'm going to see if there are any materials we can use on the beach.'

Kara gave her a bright smile and stood up. 'Sure,' she said as she brushed the sand off her clothes. 'I'll be right back.'

Before the blonde went too far away, Lena called out her name. 'I'm sorry for all the times I hurt you and did you wrong. I still believe my feelings were justified, but I know I took things too far and you didn't deserve any of that. I hope you can forgive me?'

A soft smile appeared on Kara's lips. 'It hurt, but of course I forgive you. And I'm not blameless, I should've told you sooner, Lena. I hope you can forgive me as well.'

'I forgave you a long time ago,' Lena admitted. 'It just took a while for my ego to realise it.'

'We're here now, that's the important part. Well, you're here, I'm going to get us some wood,' Kara corrected cheekily.

'Hey, Kara,' the raven haired woman called out again. The superhero turned back around and tilted her head expectantly. Lena swallowed hard and said, 'I have a plan to get us out of here, and whatever happens next, I need you to remember that.'

Kara grinned at her. 'I know you do, you're Lena effing Luthor,' she teased and when the CEO gave her a nod, she resumed her walk to the woods.

Once the Super was too deep in the forest to see her, Lena slowly approached the shoreline. They really did end up in a face-your-fears simulation, the CEO remarked bitterly. She took a slow step into the cold saltwater and a mantra started playing in her head as her fear response kicked in: _this isn't real_. 

Armed with enough sticks to build a miniature wooden castle, Kara returned to the sanded terrain, feeling lighthearted despite the situation. The smile on her lips dropped as quickly as the wood when she noticed the lack of 'Lena'. Or more precisely, the lack of Lena on the beach, and the floating body in the water. Dread filled her body and she rushed to the ocean as quickly as her unpowered physiology would allow. Lena's name tumbled out of her mouth in the form of a desperate plea and she prayed to Rao as she swam towards the unresponsive body. The stabbing pain in her chest was so overwhelming, Kara thought for a second that her heart had literally shattered into pieces. Just as she reached out her hand to grab her friend, a powerful wind pulled her backwards. Fighting the force was useless but she tried nevertheless.

The next time Kara opened her eyes, she was on a stretcher in what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. Kryptonite cuffs were keeping her in place but the pain couldn't compare to the wreckage in her rib cage. Seeing Lena lying on a similar bed a few feet away was enough to trigger the adrenaline rush she needed to break through the restraints. The peaceful expression on the Luthor's face was a stark contrast to her injured shoulder. Without wasting another second, the Super carefully carried the woman in her arms before flying off to the DEO. 

'I know you're worried about Lena, we all are, but you need to take care of yourself as well, Kara.'

Alex's concerned voice reached Kara's ears but that seemed to be the end of its journey. The blonde seemed no less in the mood to leave her friend's side than she did when she arrived five minutes earlier. 'I'm fine, Alex,' she dismissed.

'You have a chip in your neck,' the doctor pointed out.

Kara opened her mouth and closed it again before she finally gazed at her sister. 'I-, what?'

Alex gently poked the base of her neck where a small flashing light had made its presence known.

'Oh.'

'We still need to run some tests on Lena and make sure her vital signs are within normal range, so why don't you let me get this chip out of you while you tell me exactly what happened and how you got out of the virtual reality?' The older sibling suggested gently.

Kara nodded once and the sisters set off to work in the medical bed next to Lena's. As the blonde recounted the events of that day? - days? - Alex started to put the pieces together..

'She just said 'pain' and made you get some wood?' She repeated incredulously.

The Super nodded again as she sat on the edge of the bed. 'And when I came back, she was... Is she-?'

'She's alive,' Alex assured as she walked to the other patient. 'She's unconscious but there's no sign of brain trauma. Are you sure she drowned?'

The horrific memory appeared in her mind once more and Kara frowned at her sister. 'That's not something I would lie about,' she returned a little hostilely.

Sensing the misinterpretation of her question, Alex quickly said, 'I know, I believe you, Kara. I'm asking if you checked her pulse to see if she was really ...?'

'Dead?'

She cleared her throat. 'Yes.'

'I didn't get the chance to,' Kara admitted. 'A portal of some kind pulled me back before I could reach her. Why? Are you saying she was _faking_ it?'

'I'm not saying anything. I just think we should consider every option,' the doctor reasoned.

'Why would she even do that? She's afraid of large bodies of water, Alex. The ocean is the last place she would want to die,' the Kryptonian ranted. 'Besides the only thing that her fake death did, was to break my heart and-,' she stopped talking abruptly.

The sisters exchanged a wide-eyed gaze as realisation dawned on them. 'Pain,' Alex understood and looked down at the unconscious woman. Her eyes drifted to the injured shoulder and a shudder passed through her own body at what she was about to do next. 'Sorry, Lena,' she muttered before relocating the limb into its proper position.

The Danvers siblings waited with bated breath. _One_ ... _two_ ... _three_ ... Suddenly the previously unconscious woman sat up, gasping for air. 'Fuck,' she winced as she cradled her arm. Realising she had an audience, she looked up to the pair, 'oh, hey.'

'Lena,' Kara breathed out. She took a tentative step towards her friend before throwing caution to the wind and pulling the other woman into a tight embrace while making sure to steer clear of her injured arm.

'Kara.' Lena closed her eyes and let herself enjoy the warmth of the familiar bear hug. 'I'm sorry for what happened back there, although it looks like you figured it out,' she said with a smirk.

'No thanks to your one-word explanation,' Alex quipped.

Lena laughed. 'I couldn't make it too easy for you now, could I?'

The doctor shook her head in amusement and fetched a sling for her shoulder. 'I'm glad you're okay. How did you even come up with that plan?' She asked as she grabbed the necessary accessory from medicine cabinet.

'My knowledge about pain and the brain was still fresh since I had done a lot of research about it for Non Nocere,' the Luthor explained. 'It was actually something you said that inspired me,' she told Kara. 'There was a disconnect between our mind and our body - so to speak - and we needed to reinstall that connection to wake up. Pain is known to grab your attention so I figured that that would do the trick, but since there was no one on the outside to physically harm us, I had to come up with another plan first. Research shows that social pain activates the same brain areas as physical pain so I saw that as our ticket out of there - or at least yours. The only catch was that I couldn't warn you about it, otherwise it would lose its effect.'

'You were saying goodbye,' Kara realised.

'Sorry?' Lena raised an eyebrow confusedly.

'The forgiveness speech, you were saying goodbye,' the blonde clarified, unsure how she was supposed to feel about the ordeal.

'As the saying goes, 'don't go to bed angry'. I figured deathbed was implicitly included in the 'bed',' the Luthor half-joked. The playful remark elicited a chuckle from the oldest Danvers sister but it didn't seem to have the same effect on the blonde. In fact, Kara gave no reaction at all.

Lena sighed. 'I'm sorry it took a near-death experience for us to talk about everything that happened, but I meant what I said, Kara. You're still my best friend, you'll always be my best friend, and like any relationship, we'll fight and break up-'

'You'll kiss, you'll make up?' Alex finished with a raised eyebrow.

'Not exactly what I was going to say but something like that, yes.'

Kara nodded. 'It's fine. I'm over it,' she told them. Whom she was trying to convince, Lena wasn't sure because it was far from fine and she was clearly not over it. While Lena had done what she had to do to save their lives, a part of her wished she had found another way. By the glazed look in Kara's eyes, she knew the image of her floating body would haunt her for the longest time, even if she knew it was fake.

The raven haired woman scooted to the left to make some room for the superhero and lay down. 'Come here,' she said, nodding towards the empty space next to her.

Kara didn't have it in her to reject the invitation on the basis that Lena was injured and needed to rest. Instead, she climbed on the bed and curled up against the warm body belonging to her best friend. She listened to the steady heartbeat resonating in Lena's chest like she had done many times before, but this time the sound brought her an unprecedented feeling of relief. Sensing the suddenly intimate atmosphere in the room, Alex quietly slipped out of the med bay to give them some privacy.

Lena pressed a soft kiss on the blonde's head. 'I'm right here,' she promised softly. 'We're okay.'

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :)


End file.
